News

Cheapest iPhone Plan In USA: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or Virgin?

Virgin mobile has started to offer pre-paid iPhone plans and is the second carrier in the US to do so. Plans could save customers more than $500 in the lifetime of their phones in comparison to the big three US carriers. According to PCWorld, the Virgin iPhone plans are available from June 29th while those of Cricket start on June 22nd.

Here we are taking a look at how Virgin stacks up against the likes of AT&T, Sprint and Verizon for the iPhone 4S. The top three carriers are offering their phones with a two year contract while Virgin are offering the phone along with Cricket with no contract as customers pay by the month. CNET has prepared a comparison pitting the iPhone plans offered by Virgin Mobile versus the rest of the competition. Here are their results:

The iPhone 4S costs $35 on the lowest of the monthly plans with Virgin mobile so you pay more for the handset, just as you would if you purchased the phone unlocked from Apple. If you choose to pay by direct debit you do get the deal for $30. While the phone is less expensive if you go with Cricket, you would pay around $450 more in the two years thanks to the higher plan costs.

If you do not have the cash to spare upfront for an iPhone 4S then AT&T, Sprint and Verizon all offer the phone for $199. However over time you will pay out more with their monthly plans. With Sprint this is $70 each month and you get unlimited everything. AT&T have the phone at $60 a month which includes data and voice and no messaging add-on.